


Fandot Creativity Night 11

by timeladyleo



Series: Fandot Creativity [10]
Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Fandot Creativity, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 16:03:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 1,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4883080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timeladyleo/pseuds/timeladyleo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Several little drabbles written for the eleventh Fandot Creativity Night.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Candle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A kind of follow up to [this EAC fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4750733/chapters/10882109)

One of the advantages to Swiss Air, alongside the pay and Theresa was that that he visited duty free far more often. Every time he saw a toblerone or Talisker he smiled, remembering Arthur and Douglas and their fondness for the things. It also gave him a chance to look at far more scented candles than was necessary. 

Which wasn’t a bad thing, it meant he could pick one up every time he went through as a present for Theresa. He tried to get different scents so they could try them out to see if cinnamon really was the best. Theresa liked the christmas scented ones too, while Martin liked ones that smelt of fires and home.

However he didn’t expect one that was marketed as ‘turquoise sky’ to make him sneeze. It was only after his eyes watered and his nose ran as it was lit the third time that he realised he was allergic to the smell. Typical. 

Theresa could help but crack a smile as she told him, unable to not find it amusing that her pilot was allergic to a candle, which was silly enough, but to one that smelt of the sky. After she apologised, she blew the candle out and threw it away. 

Martin decided, after that, it was best just to stick to cinnamon and vanilla and winter log fire.


	2. Fish!

Herc still hadn’t decided whether or not taking Arthur fishing with him was in fact a good idea. There was a lovely, quiet spot by the river, just outside the woods were Herc often set up his fishing stuff and sat with a good book for a few hours. Carolyn had questioned it a few times, how he could be vegetarian and so pro animal but hunt fish for sport. He has replied that it was fine because he threw them back and didn’t actually hurt them. He wasn’t sure if she was convinced. 

Arthur, however, had heard the word fishing and had - as he so often did - become suddenly excited and begged to be taken along. Herc hadn’t been totally for the idea, but couldn’t say no to Arthur’s bouncing around. 

That was how they had got there. Herc had cast his line and was trying to sit back and relax but he didn’t dare take his eye off Arthur who had taken off his shoes and socks for some reason, and- “Arthur, no! Don’t paddle in the river, please! You’ll scare the fish!” 

He turned, having just started to dip his toes in, and looked at Herc. “Aww, Herc, please? I’ll be really quiet, I promise! If I just paddle quietly the fish won’t mind.” He looked so dejected at being asked to stop that Herc just sighed and nodded. 

“Alright, but quietly. And then we’ll have our picnic.” Arthur’s face instantly brightened.

“Brilliant!” He jumped, forgetting that he wasn’t supposed to be splashing. “Mum made sandwiches, and I brought fizzy yoghurt!” Again, he splashed around, turning away from Herc who started to say something before giving up, watching Arthur paddle off into the river. 

He wasn’t going to get any fishing done at all.


	3. Secret Stash

Martin loved Douglas’ house. He loved snooping around and looking in all the spare rooms where there were old cardboard boxes filled with old bits and bobs: art from when his daughters were at school, old newspaper articles for whatever sentimental value they had, books he had never taken out since moving last, photos of people from a long time ago. 

Most of the stuff was what Martin expected to find, china and glassware and other things Douglas had that had no real place to go other than in a box. Though as he was rummaging, one day, he stumbled across something entirely unexpected. 

“Douglas?” he called, taking some dusty old boxes out of a larger cardboard box only labelled ‘aviation’. Douglas walked in, looked at Martin kneeling on the floor and at what he was holding and felt a faint blush spread up his neck. 

“Oh, no. You found my secret stash of planes.” he mumbled, half under his breath before joining Martin on the floor. 

Martin looked firmly at him and held one of the model plane boxes up. “After all the times you’ve mocked me about these things?” Douglas nodded. “And you had ones I don’t all this time and you didn’t tell me?” 

“I’m sorry, Martin. In honesty, I had forgotten about most of these old things. Emily used to like to build them with me, but then…” He trailed off as he remembered how she used to watch him glue them together for hours. “I’ve been meaning to get them out again for years.” 

There was a silence as Martin studied the boxes further. “Well, why don’t we?” he suggested, holding it out slightly to Douglas. “I can help you build them?” 

Douglas smiled and wrapped an arm around Martin, pulling him close. “Of course you can, Martin, I would love that.” 

For weeks after, they spent hours and hours putting together tiny planes, and along with Martin’s they were displayed proudly on the mantlepiece.


	4. Towels

“Herc, what on _earth_ are you doing, and why?” Carolyn said, announcing her presence after several minutes of standing there, watching Herc taking all the towels out of the airing cupboard. He was knelt on the floor, reaching for the ones right at the back and the shock of hearing Carolyn made him jump and bash his head on the shelf. 

“Ow!” He took a moment to rub his head, stand up and face Carolyn, smiling as if to pretend nothing was happening. “Hello, Carolyn.”

“Again, what are you doing?” she asked, folding her arms though not trying terribly hard to stop the amused grin forming on her face. Herc stood and looked at her sheepishly, trying to decide how to explain himself. 

“Well, in short I am rearranging the towels.” Carolyn burst out laughing, covering her mouth with her hand. Herc stood awkwardly, not knowing what to say to stop her laughing, or at least stop her laughing more. 

Once she recovered a little, she said “And why would you need to do that?” She knew for a fact the cupboard wasn’t exactly untidy (apart from when Arthur got near it, something she prevented as often as possible), so she couldn’t see what he felt the need to rearrange. 

“They’re all mixed up! I was going to take them out and fold them into piles of Arthur’s, yours and mine. That’s all.” Carolyn shook her head, deciding it was best not to question him further. 

“As long as they’re all put away, I don’t care what you do. Just make sure Arthur’s ‘brilliant!’ one is put somewhere obvious. I never want to go through three days of it being ‘lost’ only to be at the back of the cupboard again.” Herc chuckled at the thought. 

“Of course I will, darling.” Carolyn rolled her eyes and left him to it, pleased to return an hour later to see a much neater cupboard than she had left.


	5. Beard

Carolyn took one look at Herc and frowned. “Honestly, I leave you on a trip for two weeks and I return to find you with that on your face.” 

Herc scoffed as though she had suggested the beginnings of his new beard was something unspeakably terrible. “It can’t be that bad, surely. I rather like it.” 

“Yes it is that bad. It is bad for several reasons, one being that it looks stupid-” 

“It does not!” Herc interrupted. Carolyn glared at him until he looked away in apology for cutting her off. 

“It looks stupid and also-” She was interrupted again, this time by Arthur bounding into the room. He took one look at Herc and his face lit up. 

“Wow, Herc! That’s brilliant! Mum, can I grow a beard?” He stood next to Herc who had raised his eyebrows slightly, grinning at Carolyn’s deepening frown. 

“No, absolutely not. Neither of you are having beards and that is the end of it.” Carolyn couldn’t help but feel she was being somewhat ganged up and as they both gave her the same disappointed look. She simply couldn’t understand the appeal of having hair growing out of your face and getting in the way .

“Why not?” asked Herc, determined to change her mind. She sighed and shook her head. This had happened before, when Douglas had grown a beard. Arthur and Martin had both tried to out-beard him, failed and consequently the argument had grown so large that she’d had to demand they all shave. It would be even worse if Herc joined in, because he and Douglas would never stop, endlessly trying to get one up on each other. 

“I tell you what, why don’t you let Arthur tell you the story of the beard contest while you go and shave.” She smiled as Arthur all but dragged him away to tell him the story with fully dramatic gestures and voices. Hopefully it would be enough to dissuade him.


	6. Burn/Let it Go

Every 12th of November, Carolyn had a bonfire. Sometimes she lit a bonfire on the fifth as well for bonfire night and just told Arthur they were having another for fun. But it wasn’t at all to do with fireworks and fun. It was about letting go of the past. 

She didn’t tell anyone the true reason for it because no one else needed to know. They didn't need to know it was in memory of her burning all of Gordon’s things and they didn’t need to know that she still sometimes had things she needed to burn. It was satisfying in many ways, to watch the past turn grey and crisp and fly into the night as sparks, fading into the night to disappear. 

Herc wasn’t so easily fooled by the extra bonfire night story, but at least he had the courtesy not to ask any more about it. She told him it was a tradition. Which it was. 

Somehow it was different, though, Herc being there. It felt less like burning things out of anger, and more - for the first time - like really letting go and moving on. So for once she didn’t mind when Arthur was dancing around the garden with a sparkler and Herc stepped closer to her and took her hand.


End file.
